Wellington mayoral candidates grilled and drenched

The water pistols came out as Aro Valley residents grilled Wellington's mayoral candidates last night.

Contenders for the mayoralty, the Regional Council and the Lambton Ward fronted up to the public in Aro Valley.

If they went on for too long, timekeepers had water pistols ready to hurry them along.

The local community hall was packed, with those who could not get inside peering in through the windows.

When it came to the mayoral contenders, the crowd held nothing back.

Even though he had no real zingers, current deputy mayor Justin Lester was the crowd's favourite.

But Jo Coughlan's promise that she was "gonna blast those tunnels through" as part of her pro-roading stance was greeted with booing and hissing.

Nick Leggett was more prepared for the crowd, telling them that "living in a great city is about moving people around".

Keith Johnson - who described himself as the "cuddly economist" - tried to woo the crowd with a song, while Andy Foster praised the city's residents for leading the country on using alternatives to cars, such as public transport, walking and cycling.

Nicola Young was left red-faced when exclaiming how glad she was that the earthquake-damaged Town Hall's "glorious organ" had been saved, and Helene Ritchie, "the most experienced candidate in all sorts of ways", knew to bring an umbrella to deal with the timekeepers' pistols.